REGIONAL FARM TRAINING centre

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1 OGUN STATE REGIONAL FARM TRAINING centre at ODEDA

2 Ogun State, n igeria

3 HARVESTING SUCCESS IN AFRICA Parker associates global LLC (Pag) is geographically focused to concentrate its efforts in African countries where successful results are challenging and rewards to humanity are great. Whether helping US companies succeed in African countries or working with African communities to develop entrepreneurial opportunities along a value chain, PAG uses a multi-disciplinary team approach to bring together the right stakeholders to achieve the best solutions. We have a team of experts with practical experience in the fields of agribusiness development, agronomy, land use planning, small business counseling, supply chain management, civic engagement and outreach. In addition, our experts specialize in the development of required laboratory enhancements to meet the needs of today s agricultural market. We believe the initiatives that PAG undertakes can produce measurable results - empowering smallholder farmers including women and youth in new technology, increasing incomes for farmers, enhancing exports for cash crops, creating new jobs, and expanding the middle-class. PAG is committed to collaborating with local cooperatives, government agencies, educational institutions, businesses, nonprofits and the civic sector. Results such as these are the building blocks of a proud community with a growing economy. Every community has assets that can be molded into an economic engine. Our goal is not to show farmers the way to economic prosperity but to nurture their own creative spirit to achieve success. It is then that the pathway to economic sustainability will emerge.

4 pag principles Pag StandS by Six PrinCiPLeS: empowering Smallholder Farmers to grow through education and hands-on training Commitment to Collaboration with local cooperatives, government agencies, educational institutions, businesses, foundations and NGOs Creation of a Community Hub for agribusiness training innovations in Farming for practical application education in Health, nutrition and Literacy is critical to success develop entrepreneurial opportunities along the value chain PHiLOSOPHy Partnerships are an important ingredient to the success of our mission. They leverage limited resources available to implement a project. PAG Partnerships use the knowledge and experience of local communities and institutions. They help us achieve results that individually cannot be achieved alone. Today, sub Saharan Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Olumo rock in 2011, africa was home to seven of the world s 10 fastest growing economies.

5 Inspire Smallholder farmers in sustainable agriculture

6 Location Ogun State» Ogun State is located in southwest Nigeria. The State covers a land area of 16,000 square kilometers of land, suitable for agriculture and forestry. The State s tropical climate is ideal for both cash crops and food crops such as cocoa, oil palm, rice, kola nut, cassava, vegetables, cocoyam and cotton.» Ogun State is an entry point for merchandise imports from the Republic of Benin, and Ogun State accounts for a significant portion of customs revenue in Nigeria.» It has the highest number of registered institutions of higher learning in the country.» Sixty-five percent of the population of Ogun State directly or indirectly relies on agriculture and agro-related activities.» Ogun State has 4,050,000 people and 70% of the population are farmers. the proportion of children completing primary school in Sub-Saharan africa rose 51% in 1991 to 64% in 2008

7 Illuminate the breath of existing agricultural knowledge nigeria Ogun State nigeria» Nigeria is located in a tropical climate zone in West Africa.» Nigeria has 84 million hectares of arable land, but only 40% utilization.» Nigeria has untapped irrigation potential with 3 of the 8 major river systems in Africa.» Nigeria, one of Africa s wealthiest countries, has a population of 162 million people growing to 470 million by 2050.» Nigeria will have 110 million youth in the workforce by 2020.» Nigeria has untapped potential as an agricultural powerhouse; 70% of the labor force is in the agricultural sector.» Agriculture comprises 35% of the GDP.

8 Market The Regional Farm Training Centre ( RFTC ) at Odeda is designed, at full operations, to serve the population of Ogun State - over 4,000,000 people; of those, 70% of the people of Ogun State are engaged in farming. The RFTC is at the center of a regional consumer market and plans to serve the regional population of thirty-five million (35,000,000) people in the five southwestern states of Nigeria Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo. Some of these states have training facilities. None of the states have a comprehensive agribusiness training facility as proposed at Odeda. Odeda will become part of a geographic hub of agribusiness training located between the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (Ogun State) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan (Oyo State). Farmers in Ogun State need training along the complete value chains for rice, oil palm, cocoa, cassava, livestock and fisheries to address the food security issues. Ogun State has 16,762 square kilometers of land, a tropical climate and steadily improving main roads to serve the needs of the large regional market. It is truly a viable market for agricultural product suppliers if farmers in Ogun State can scale-up to become a primary food source for this massive market. The RFTC at Odeda includes working with existing farm organizations and cooperatives to develop options for smallholder farmers to share equipment and training. The state recognizes that women in Ogun State (48-50% of the population) are very important to the economy and must be provided the opportunity to succeed. The RFTC at Odeda has developed a special training module to address the additional challenges that women in agriculture face access to capital, family health issues, maternal health, physically burdensome farm implements and illiteracy.

9 Ignite entrepreneurial opportunities Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 11% of the world s population, but bears 24% of the global disease burden (WHO report 2008). The health of smallholder farmers is imperative to their economic livelihood. Low labor productivity undermines food production, stifles income growth from the lack of surplus and keeps many farming families impoverished, hungry, and undernourished. RFTC at Odeda is the perfect platform to showcase the latest healthcare innovations, techniques and solutions to meet the needs of smallholder farmers - particularly for women and youth. Ogun State, as other states in Nigeria, faces the challenge of job creation and entrepreneurship for its youth. The RFTC at Odeda has designed a special module for young graduates of agricultural programs. This program for youth will emphasize business opportunities in farming along targeted agricultural value chains. It will train young people to succeed in the business of agriculture. RFTC at Odeda is also designed to serve emerging entrepreneurs in other countries in Africa that are interested in growing and enhancing the success of their business. Nigeria s Federal Ministry recognizes that the world faces huge challenges presented by climate change. Continued research at Odeda s neighboring institutions and our training centre s practical application of this research, as a part of agricultural extension, will offer farmers new solutions in changing environments. Finally, the RFTC at Odeda proposes to invest in new applications that support farming and training youth to utilize innovative networking and mobile technologies for growing modern farm operations. The urban population Is expected to double by 2030, urban food markets offer enormous potential for regional intra-trade in Sub-Saharan africa.

10 A New Centre at Odeda Project Description This is an economic development initiative in the agricultural sector organized to address Ogun State s challenge of business development for smallholder farmers, job creation, and entrepreneurship for women and youth. The project will occupy the site of the historic ca. 1960s Odeda Farm Training Institute. The 860-acre site will be utilized for the location of a comprehensive Regional Farm Training Centre to serve Ogun State and to meet the training needs of Southwest States in Nigeria and beyond. With over 2,000,000 farmers in Ogun State, the new Regional Farm Training Centre at Odeda will be a regional Hub for agricultural training and business skill development. Its physical location on Abeokuta-Ibadan Road between the Federal University of Agriculture at Abeokuta (Ogun State) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan (Oyo State) gives it unique access to world-class agricultural resources to enhance the project s growth. The Regional HUB will include the restoration of an existing stone building to be used for classroom and office space. The renovation of other smaller masonry buildings will offer the opportunity for their adaptive re-use providing accessory farm buildings, short-term dormitory facilities, and aquaculture tanks and poultry hatcheries at the same site. The site will also accommodate the construction of a new 20,000SF farm training building with classrooms, offices and mechanical equipment bays, auditorium, meeting rooms, dining facilities, kitchen and computer facilities. The construction of a new larger dormitory facility will offer accommodations for persons plus staff housing. New accessory buildings will be constructed for crop storage, maintenance and farm equipment complemented by a new Food Safety Laboratory to improve and maintain quality control and ensure food safety. Significant acreage will be used to demonstrate new farm technology with teaching areas on Model Farm Plots for targeted value chain crops palm oil, cocoa, rice and cassava; as well as livestock, fishery and poultry. The Regional Farm Training Centre at Odeda will grow to demonstrate the agricultural assets of cashew, citrus, nursery crops and other specialty crops useful to smallholder farmers to boost their income by addressing niche markets. The most powerful engine of rural growth is agricultural growth. agriculture has important forward and backward linkages to the local economy on both production and the consumption side.

11 Pag S innovative entrepreneurship PrOgraM Train-the-Trainer Extension Program Best Practices for Smallholder Farmers Beginner Farmer Training Program Women Entrepreneurship & Empowerment Program Youth Entrepreneurship Program Integrative Wellness Program Imagine a Modern regional Farm training Centre

12 Building Capacity PROGRAM DESCRIPTION PAG s uniquely designed entrepreneurship Program strives to empower rural communities by building capacity at the community level through education, training, and equipping smallholder farmers with management skills, farming methods, and financial knowledge needed to improve their lives socially and economically. Our staff customizes PAG s Entrepreneurship Program to the individual needs of each farmer. The Entrepreneurship Program accelerates the development of smallholder farmers and offers our students knowledge about how to scale-up to address larger commercial markets. We strive to ensure that beginning farmers, especially women and youth, and seasoned farmers have a voice in the training needed and benefit from all of our interventions. Together with identifying markets for smallholder farmers, PAG s six-phase program identifies and ensures that farmers increase yields and improve the quality of their crops through expanded agriculture extension services. PAG integrates new technologies, green solutions, water and waste management and mechanization training into farming methods. PAG helps smallholder farmers add value to their crops through improved planting, use of inputs, efficient harvesting, processing, packaging and cost effective storage technologies. Agricultural and business development training are integrated with new technology and hands-on farm fieldwork to provide complete and practical farmer training. PAG s agribusiness training programs integrate information on nutrition and health. Agricultural and business development training are woven together with PAG s integrative Wellness Program to incorporate awareness, prevention and nutrition - dedicated to the prevention of disease for smallholder farmers. PAG is fully committed to transforming and empowering smallholder farmers to be part of Africa s technological advancements and changing society now and for generations to come. Immerse yourself in a technological and hands-on educational training program

13 Definition of Success SigniFiCant gains in» Crop production now only 10% of Gross State Product» Reduction of unemployment among youth» Decrease in post-harvest losses» Increase in per hectare crop yields» Increase of HIV/AIDS awareness and maternal health in women» Increase in Clean Water initiatives» Establishing micro-finance facilities in Ogun State» Increase in the utilization of preventive, promotive and curative health services in farm communities» Increase in crop storage systems» Increase in agro-processing facilities» Increase in regional exports» Increase in the use of fertilizers and inputs» Increase in the use of mechanized equipment» Increase in the use of new technologies» Increase in family nutrition Pag PartnerS WitH» The Government of Ogun State, Nigeria» RealLeeds, Nig. Ltd.» The African Business Roundtable USA Linkages to the African Diaspora» In-country NGOs and Universities» A Consortium of Universities» US Government agricultural research and extension agencies» Local farm cooperatives and organizations 65% of Sub-Saharan africa s population lives in rural areas

14 Benefits to FarMerS» Improved agricultural productivity through farming best practices» Participation in determining their training needs» Centralized and coordinated training programs» Post-training information and support through mobile technologies» Organizational and financial capacity building» Identification of markets, market access and distribution networks» Access to new technologies and their practical application» Opportunities to use mechanization on farms» Model Farm available for hands-on training» Implementation of crop quality and testing standards to grow market penetration» Latest information on healthcare innovations, techniques and solutions to meet their needs especially women and youth OVER 50% of agrarian workforce are women

15 Involve Public-private partnerships to connect community development and agribusiness to PriVate-SeCtOr» Selection and cultivation of promising agricultural innovations» Promotion of sustainable and scalable private-sector solutions» Access to government decision-makers» Improved agricultural markets and investment in market development» Government investment in support of agribusiness policy» Assist the private sector to develop, test and market new services and products» Spurs on-farm and off-farm employment through processing facilities and other value-added enterprises» Availability of high quality crops to support exports» Increased business opportunities along the agricultural value chains» Increased brand recognition and visibility» Early access to a growing consumer market to LOCaL governments» Promotion of equal training opportunities for women and youth» Increased private-sector investment in agriculture» Program support from non-traditional partners such as social venture capital funds and the private sector» Expanded community outreach and participation» Coordination with other existing programs, organizations, and donor activities in an effort to complement and inform

16 HarVeSting SuCCeSS in africa w w w. P a r k e r a s s o c i a t e s g l o b a l. c o m t h av e n u e, S u i t e r i v e r d a l e, M d u S a